Deer Tick Bite
 

I got one of these. :(

Had to tug a teensy tick off/out of my skin & saved him for analysis. By the next day when I went to a walk in clinic, the bite had swelled up & become hot & sore.

Got a prophylactic dose of doxycycline--best within 72 hours of a bite--and have to go back in two weeks to be tested for Lyme Disease. The doxy is not fun, makes me feel sick and itchy, which may last for a few days.

Anyone else had this oh so lovely experience?

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

That's a strange coincidence, I found a tick on my back last night, but I didn't think to keep it. The bite isn't inflamed in any way, but I will ask Mrs P to look at it more closely tonight. ..... Could it be carrying Lyme disease even if the bite isn't inflamed? :(

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Yes it can Pulaski, as Lyme can take up to a month to manifest itself, however, the number of ticks carrying the disease is actually very small so the odds are greatly in your favour.

A mate of mine had a late diagnose of Lyme disease after some 4 months intense of flu like symptoms and the antibiotics sorted it out quickly - interestingly it was he (a competitive orienteer) who first mentioned Lyme to the doctor!

I only know a few orienteers who have had Lyme but know literally 100s who have had ticks (OH is a tick magnet and has never had Lyme disease despite loads of ticks being removed from her body over the years in several different countries).

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Yes, the deer ticks are very bad this year. Each day I find several just wandering around on my body, it seems to take them a while to find a spot to dig in, fortunately. Both my wife and I have had four or five actually dug in, which I've had to pull out (wife's a bit squeamish about them). I nip them with my finger nails and pull them out, then observe them for a minute, walking around. That way you know they are alive, i.e. you didn't leave the head in. Then kill it. They are hard and take quite a bit of squashing.

The bites vary. Usually quite painful and swollen and red for several days, sometimes with a nasty looking black center. Supposedly risk of Lyme infection is low if dug in for less than 24 hours, and in theory we each check fairly thoroughly twice a day! I've never bothered to go to the doctor about them, but if I did have symptoms I would know to mention the possibility of Lyme to the doc.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

We're over-run with the crawling little bastards - I seem to be pulling one off either me or the dog every five minutes.

My understanding is that the tick needs to be on for about 32 hours before it passes on the Lyme parasite so you may be in luck if you caught it quickly.

The odds of contracting the Lyme are, apparently, relatively small. The tick needs to be a particular type AND a female AND be infected AND be on you for 32 hours.

That said, I managed to get the disease within a month of moving to New England so I must be really, really lucky... Should have bought a lottery ticket.

Keep an eye on the bite site. It does swell up - that's your body reacting to the bite - but it should go down within a couple of days. Watch out for the classic 'bullseye' and then the rash. If they appear then, congratulations! You're part of the club.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Yes, it definitely can. Please do visit a physician at the earliest.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

When I've had Lyme, I've usually found that I'm OK if I take the first dose of doxy of the day and then lie down for an hour. Then the nausea passes. Hope you soon feel better.

The tick has to be attached to you for 36 to 48 hours to transmit Lyme. Even if it is on you for only a short time, it can itch like mad, so if you have no itching at all, it is very feasible it hadn't been on for long. I found one last month that I knew had only been attached for an hour or so when I found it -- my neck was red and itchy for a week.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

An American relative got Lyme a few years ago, and he never saw or felt any inflammation, or noticed any bite site--it was a mystery to him where exactly he'd been bitten.

His first and only symptom was what seemed to be a terrible case of flu. This was a big strong guy and he found he could barely get out of bed. His doctor gave him a course of antibiotics and he was better in a week.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Is it always necessary to visit a doctor after any deer tick bite?

I ignored mine for a day because it didn't seem to be doing anything at all, just a slight red bump. But the next morning it had swollen up into a big sore lump, and there was an odd and expanding bruise and a red line running above it. So I got scared and went to the clinic.

The doctor spent all of 3 minutes with me, pushed the doxycycline and left, but the nurse stayed to answer my questions. He (male nurse) looked at the tick and confirmed it was indeed a deer tick, told me where to send it for Lyme testing, and warned me that the doxy could mess me round for a few days. It makes you sun-sensitive, so need to cover up (or sunblock generously) in the sun. He also said no dairy products with it, as calcium renders it less effective, so no milk in my tea for a while.....

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

I've always just monitored the site and how I felt. As others have said, it's prone to be the bite you didn't know you had that gets you!

Ooops, I always took the doxy with my morning yogurt to soften the blow to my stomach. But I guess it still worked!

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

I'd say, not necessary. If everyone in the US northeast went to the doctor every time they were bitten by a deer tick, there'd be lines around the block trying to get into every doctors office. I get dozens of such bites a year, despite precautions. Just go by the indications mentioned, and go to the doctor if it seems indicated...

(Just my opinion though!)

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

And one with which I heartily concur.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Ticks are something the i do no miss about living in the north east.
Rather than running to the doctors for a bug bite people here generally call the poison control center as a precaution. People can react very differently to certain things like scorpion bites.
The will go over your symptoms and suggest a course of action if required. They will typically follow up with you throughout the day to see how you are doing.

I have my poison control center number in my phone contacts.

You can find your center here

http://www.safekids.org/guide/find-y...control-center

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

We were told by the doctor not to go every time we got bitten by a tick. Been OK so far, everyone has been bitten at some point but no one has got Lyme.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Isn't there a vaccine here? There were ticks when we lived in Switzerland, not in our bit over by Lake Geneva, but over the other side, near Germany. Everyone on my expat forum there appears to have got vaccinated shortly after arrival as part of their 'moving over' checklist. Or is this a different variety of Lyme?

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

WHEN were they vaccinated? There was a vaccine in the usa which was withdrawn. Is it still available in Europe ?

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

I took part in a pilot program about a decade ago, but it disappeared without trace. So now there is a vaccine for dogs, but not people!

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Apparently, some people have been able to persuade their vets to administer the vaccine. How the hell that works beats me.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

A tip, if you are bitten by a tick it is better, if you can, not to rip it off forcibly but to burn it with the end of a lit cigarette. So it retracts its jaws and can be removed with minimal force.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Dunno - I just remember there being threads about people taking their kids to have it done if they lived in the more Germanic, heavily-forested parts of Switzerland. We lived there from early 2008 to late 2011, so some time in that window.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Another way is to use a loop of cotton thread - loop it over the tick where it meets the skin, then gently pull the ends of the thread to close around the juncture, and gradually squeeze out the biting bit. This works without applying any pressure to the body and therefore having the risk of squirting the partially-digested blood back in, which I vaguely think is a problem for Lyme or maybe just general infection.

My son got a tick once on his shoulder when we lived in rural Somerset, and the cotton method is the one I had to use, not having the right sort of tweezers to hand.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Where the heck are you supposed to get a cigarette from? And light it??

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Ticks don't have retractable jaws, their mouth parts have barbs on. The most likely thing to happen if you put a cigarette on it is it will regurgitate into the host possibly increasing the risk of infection. Also you'll probably burn yourself.

Tweezers.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

But won't burning it like this hurt/anger it? I've heard it's bad to do either, as that's when the tick may either clamp down harder and/or vomit up their poison?

I discovered it in the bath, where it floated a bit off my skin (attached by the head of course). It was very tiny, like an immature black sesame seed. I wrapped my fingers in loo tissue & took two careful tugs. I got the whole thing out, then ran to put it into a plastic Tupperware container (screeching a bit all the while). :blink: :lol:

LOL, yes, we wouldn't have such a thing at hand either. I assume Holly or a family member is a smoker. :D

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

We currently have a black widow spider - now dead - in a Tupperware container, that turned up in our pool umbrella over the weekend. I made a skree...skree edge-of-panic hissing noise throughout the whole process. I'm not spider-phobic, but you know... Black. Widow. Spider.

Irk.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Yes, but forget the tissue. Simply nip the creature gently with your finger nails and pull it off. Honestly I've done it maybe a hundred times, no problem, the animal is still alive and unharmed as far as I can tell (then I kill it.)

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

tick removal WebMD http://www.webmd.com/first-aid/tc/ho...-tick-overview

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

holly I think that is leeches not ticks

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

In practice, the usefulness of this is limited. This seems to apply to larger ticks, not deer ticks, which of course are tiny... much smaller than a pinhead. In particular, the WebMD page says not to use your bare hands. With a tiny deer tick, it would be hard to accurately grab it while using tissues, gloves etc.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Crazy! One would think that the dose for a person would be totally different than that for an animal -- and if the person had a bad reaction and ended up in the emergency room the vet would surely lose his license.

My OH uses the finger nail method to get them off me; being a klutz, I use tweezers on him. Then I swab the area with alcohol.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

DO NOT MESS AROUND WITH DEER TICKS.

Deer ticks are serious business. Two of my three kids have had Lyme disease as adults. I got a deer tick on me while sitting in my garden in a residential area in a town in NE USA (in an area where ticks are endemic). Luckily spotted it and removed it almost as soon as it bit.

Both of the kids were very ill. One had the bulls-eye rash so we were alerted and luckily went straight to hospital as kid developed Lyme disease encephalitis. The other (no longer living at home) had no symptoms at first and THOUGHT THE TICK HAD NOT BEEN ON FOR LONG so did not worry. But then developed flu-like symptoms, head-ache, and finally Lyme-induced FACIAL PALSY.
Which is no joke and lasts for weeks.

It is misleading for docs to say don't worry unless the tick has been on you for 24 hours or more. In my opinion and in that of some doctors, if you have a deer tick bite at all, you should take the antibiotics just to be safe. But this is controversial.

Untreated Lyme disease can ruin your life.

There is no human vaccine, the one that was in development did not work enough to be licensed, though approved for animals.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

There was a very effective human vaccine, lymerix, IIRC, but the anti-vaccers got at it, and it was withdrawn. A competing, successful vaccine was withdrawn before it came on the market, even after good trials results.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

I did some web research, and the result was a little confusing. Some authorities say that it's calcium supplements, also iron supplements or anti-acids, that will interfere with doxycycline...rather than calcium in food.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/d...s/a682063.html

Other reputable sites say avoid any kind of calcium as much as possible. Still other advice is to not eat dairy 2 hours before or one hour after taking doxycycline. Honestly, how is one to know?

Taking antibiotics with yogurt is a no-brainer--I do that all the time in an attempt to keep my system in balance. :( But since I received only one large dose of the doxy (as a preventive) I'm trying to follow the nurse's directions to cut all calcium out for 5 days.

It's so hard because I love my milk-heavy cuppas all day long--they keep me going! The husband, thinking to be helpful, bought me some soy milk ...BUT ... reading the fine print, it's enriched with calcium! :blink: Same with the other milk substitutes in my supermarket, all have added calcium. It's ridiculous!

Finally I found that non-dairy creamer I usually hate, Coffee Mate, has no calcium, so I'm using it in my tea. NOT very good at all, but it'll have to do for a few more days.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Yes, exactly!! Making a breathy noise like a violin just missing a note in the highest register. A modified, quiet but continual, shriek. :lol:

Actually a black widow spider may be more dangerous (more consistently dangerous) than an attached deer tick. But the idea is the same--PANIC.

I guess I should calm down about ticks though. This was my first (known). Some of you posters here seem very matter-of-fact about them. I hope I can learn to take them in stride, too, as this area is chock-a-block with the little devils, and everyone here has a tick "story" ... or three ... or five. :blink:

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

I agree they are horrible, but they are also a fact of life around here, so one can't really head to the doctor every time a tick grabs hold, I'm afraid. I just try to be vigilant -- bandanna over the head when walking in the woods, trousers tucked into socks when gardening, and a body check in the evening, so that if I see something the next day, I know that it wasn't attached the day before and thus have a time frame. We also check the dogs every day to ensure they aren't bringing any nasty little friends into the house -- though they get to have an annual shot, so perhaps they should worry about being close to us! ;)

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

This thread is oddly making me feel a whole lot better about the scorpions we have to watch out for here. Creepies seem to just be a way of life here, that you become accustomed to and become part of the routine. You guys have your long-sleeved clothing and careful woodland walks and daily body checks for attached black specks; we have no bare feet in the garage ever or the yard after dusk, and scanning the floor of a room as you walk about barefoot in the house, and regular scorp black light hunts in the yard after dark.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

This thread is giving me serious second thoughts about moving :eek:

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Luckily all i get at my house is crickets. I keep shoes in the garage. But i've seen Arizona bark scorpions around the office.

Personally i'd be more concerned about a brown recluse spider bite than a scorpion sting. Or maybe the excruciating pain of a gila monster bite, because once they bite you basically need to pry its jaw open with a screw driver to get it off.

And I'm never out hiking the trails after dusk because that's when the mountain lions start hunting :eek:

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Hmm, there's 127 worse things about the northeast United States than deer ticks.

Re: Deer Tick Bite
 

Just always wear stout boots and long pants tucked into your socks in PA to minimize risk of being bitten by rattlesnakes, endemic in PA as in NYS. Incidentally this should keep out the deer ticks.